sore on bottom of foot
by mickel
(nevada)
about 3 or 4 years ago i had stepped on a piece of glass but i still have a sore on the bottom of my foot like i still have a piece of glass in my foot but i am pretty sure i got all the glass out after i stepped on it it is the width of a pencil and sometimes it bleeds when a few layers of skin come off on its own do i still have a piece of glass in my foot or is it infected
ANSWERHi Mickel,
There is always the possibility that you still have glass in your foot. Over the years I have had countless patients who have come in to the office telling me that they removed the glass, but their foot still hurts. Guess what? I explore the area and find additional shards of glass.
Usually the glass a person steps on is so small that the force of stepping on it, causes it to break in half, thus leaving a piece in the foot.
If there is no glass in the foot, the other possibility would be that of a granuloma which is basically scar and inflammatory tissue that forms in an area of a foreign body. The fact that the trauma occurred 3-4 years ago makes the granuloma a rare possibility as the body generally re-absorbs them if there is no longer any glass in there.
Another possibility is that of an inclusion cyst, which is a cyst that forms in a traumatic opening of the skin. An inclusion cyst theoretically could still be present 3-4 years down the road.
Furthermore, there is the possibility that you have a wart in the area. Many times when people have an opening in the skin on the bottom of the foot secondary to trauma, a wart virus can lodge itself in the area and be a source of discomfort.
The most likely scenario, however, is that you still have a small piece of glass in the foot which has not allowed the area to completely heal.
For that reason I would recommend you see a podiatrist in your area who will be able examine the sore part of your foot and determine if there is a
foreign body still present or if your problem is from the other possibilities I have mentioned.
Marc Mitnick DPM
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